The New Orleans Pelicans took care of business on Friday night as they beat the Sacramento Kings 105-98 in a do-or-die NBA Play-In Tournament game. The victory sees them move on to play the Western Conference's No. 1 seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Game 1 will take place on Sunday night at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The visitors will be without star forward Zion Williamson — who played in 70 games this season — which could prove to be the difference. How do oddsmakers view this series between the No. 1 and No. 8 seeds?
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans preview
FanDuel Sportsbook lists Oklahoma City as a huge chalk favorite to advance to the second round. The Thunder are -650 favorites, meaning interested bettors would have to wager $650 just to profit $100. Betting on New Orleans comes with a huge risk, but if the Pelicans manage to upset the West's top seed, the series win is currently trading at better than 4/1 (+440).
Obviously, Willie Green's men have a huge mountain to climb.
Williamson's loss is an impactful one and in his absence, several Pelicans players will have to step up. New Orleans did whip up a winning formula on Friday night as Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas led the way. Trey Murphy III chipped in with 16 points and New Orleans' bench played a huge role too with multiple double-digit scorers. Whether or not these role players can chip in with consistent performances remains to be seen.
Suffice it to say, Oklahoma City is a far better team than Sacramento. This is especially true at home where the Thunder are 33-8 on the season, which is joint-second best in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets.
It'll be strength versus strength early on at the Paycom Center considering the Pelicans are better on the road (28-14) than at home (21-19). New Orleans' lone win in three tries against Oklahoma City this season was a 110-106 victory on the Thunder's home court. Mark Daigneault's men did manage to win the last two meetings by a combined 31 points at the Smoothie King Center.
The Pelicans' one clear advantage is experience. Players like CJ McCollum and Valanciunas have been in these spots before, whereas Oklahoma City's young roster isn't too familiar with the postseason. The Thunder also possess the coaching and depth advantages, though, which helps explain their odds.
Here is the schedule for the first-round series:
Thunder-Pelicans Western Conference Playoffs schedule
Game 1:Â Pelicans at Thunder (-8) (Sunday, April 21 at 8:30 p.m. CT)
Game 2:Â Pelicans at Thunder (Wednesday, April 24 at 8:30 p.m. CT)
Game 3:Â Thunder at Pelicans (Saturday, April 27 at 2:30 p.m. CT)
Game 4:Â Thunder at Pelicans (Monday, April 29, TBD)
Game 5*:Â Pelicans at Thunder (Wednesday, May 1, TBD)
Game 6*:Â Thunder at Pelicans (Friday, May 3, TBD)
Game 7*:Â Pelicans at Thunder (Sunday, May 5, TBD)
*-If necessary